


Maybe Just for Tonight

by outlawserenade



Series: I Can Do This [3]
Category: Batman (Comics), Detective Comics (Comics), Red Hood and the Outlaws (Comics), Red Robin (Comics)
Genre: Artemis is so done, Fluff, JayTim Week 2018, Jaytim - Freeform, M/M, Secretly Dating, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, how to date your vigilante boyfriend, just fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-18
Updated: 2018-03-18
Packaged: 2019-04-04 07:26:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,986
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14015232
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/outlawserenade/pseuds/outlawserenade
Summary: Jason took a deep breath, stepped out just enough from the shadows to make sure his quarry saw him. His target stopped as his eyes landed on Jason. And god he looked so small. Even in slick, expensive jacket suit that should've given him all the intimidation qualities needed by someone like him to get his job done. His small stature, porcelain skin, and glasses belied the more ruthless, skillful qualities that could lead him to change the world. Or control it.





	Maybe Just for Tonight

"I can do this." Jason nodded confidently. He is Jason Todd, the  _Red Hood_ , for cryin' out loud. Criminal masterminds and villains tremble the instant they hear he was in the  _neighboring country_. He is listed in about more than a dozen of law enforcement's wanted lists, which may or may not include the FBI, NSA, Homeland Security, Interpol, MI5, Mossad, and about two dozen others of European agencies. He struck fear not unlike the Batman does to a more specific kind of criminals.

Artemis eyed him from top to bottom critically. "I would say you should just get out there and do it already. What's keeping you?" she commented.

Jason puffed his chest arrogantly. "I am biding my time."

She cocked an eyebrow at him.

"Everything has to be timed perfectly, or a plan won't work." he insisted.

She rolled her eyes. "Really." she said dryly.

"Seriously." Jason nodded, more to himself than to Artemis.

"Bizarro am thinks Red Him am chicken." Bizarro piped up.

Jason death-glared him. "I'm not chickening out." he scowled.

"Yes, of course you're not." Artemis remarked. Still dryly. "Your target is fast approaching, south-bound. If you get going now, you'll be ahead of him."

"I'm going." Jason said, started to raise his hand to comb his hair with his fingers, then paused. Artemis glared. Bizarro glared, too - 'fer cryin' out loud. "I'm going!" he insisted. Artemis rolled her eyes again.

...And pushed him off the roof! "Art--!" Jason yelped, and swallowed his scream and instinctively reached for the nearest protrusion to slow his fall. Then he shoot a grappling gun to a higher point, to swing higher to get to the next building. He landed a few buildings later, just a few hundred steps ahead of his quarry, should be enough time to settle his breath and nerves.

He counted to one hundred, finding his breath and nerves calmed just enough. He should not be nervous. Ever. A peek on a parked car's tinted window told him that his quarry should be in place, soon.

Jason took a deep breath, stepped out just enough from the shadows to make sure his quarry saw him. His target stopped as his eyes landed on Jason. And  _god_  he looked so small. Even in slick, expensive jacket suit that should've given him all the intimidation qualities needed by someone like him to get his job done. His small stature, porcelain skin, and glasses belied the more ruthless, skillful qualities that could lead him to change the world. Or control it.

His eyes landed on Jason and he stilled.

"Hey." Jason called. "You ready for this?"

The man -  _no_ , Jason thought,  _boy_  - smiled. "Sure. Still can't believe he's letting me get away with this." he said.

"Why wouldn't he?" Jason scoffed. "Daddy dearest would only 'want his kids to be happy'," he tacked on, perfectly copying the gruff, gravely voice they have all been too familiar with. "So, not even a struggle, Timmers?"

The boy - Tim Drake - shrugged. "Nah, I've only worn this suit for a couple of hours. Don't feel like throwing them to the dry cleaners yet." he grinned. "So where are we going?"

Jason swallowed, a little nervously. "Thought I'd take you someplace nice for our first official date." he said. "Then I remembered that those nice places would cost me an arm and a leg, maybe a kidney, and I ain't the rich boy. So..." he thumbed toward the alley, where his car was parked. "Let's do picnic."

Tim giggled. "Let's! This should be fun."

"Of course it would. You're not the only one who can plan things to the details. I actually have a checklist."

Tim stepped closer to him and stood on his tiptoes until he caught Jason's lips and kissed him, a lot more chaste and playful, but the kind that made Jason squeezed his eyes shut, anyway. He let off with a loud smack. "I've missed you, anyway. Let's go."

A little while later, they were cruising quietly in Tim's car - because it was inconspicuous and its windows are darkly tinted, thanks to the joys of being Bruce Wayne's next son-du-jour.

Not that Jason is bitter, really. He got to drive it. "So how's the flock of... whatever you have in your little chicken coop that is the Belfry?"

"That's a lot of wrong similes. A group of bats--"

"--is a colony, yeah, I know. I think you've got more than bats, haven't you?"

"No chickens, but there are two robins and one Nightwing."

"Mmmhmm..."

"And they're not being told of you taking me out tonight. Or being allowed to track me. They all thought I'm on house arrest and not going anywhere." Tim said. "Since... you know..." his voice trailed off.

Yes, since he was presumed 'dead' only to return a year later with a lot of drama and some grand cosmic crazies. Jason wasn't too sure. He hasn't kept up with the Batfam gossips. Not even when he was with Tim.

Their times together would be spent with a lot of quiet time. Tim finally acknowledged that he needed someone right by him, a warm body that didn't need to talk too much, just to remind him that he wasn't alone. Somehow, Jason was chosen out of the other bat-allies.

Somehow, Jason couldn't find it in him to say "no, Tim, go away."

Somehow, the quiet times end up as snuggle times. Like a cliché, they ended up sleeping together. Like real sleep, eyes shut, spooning and all.

Somehow, none of the rest of the Batfam even wondered what was going on. Not even a snark of how 'convenient' it is for Jason that Tim's home was in Crime Alley, a few blocks away from the Outlaws' base. Not a single soul peeked around, not even daddyBats.

For Jason, the lack of people peeping was fine. For Tim, Jason knew, was hurting. He felt like no one is giving a damn about him - again. An admission that fell out of Tim's mouth a few weeks ago, when there had been a massive brawl downtown with Penguin's and Riddler's men, in which a good number of the team that Tim had built had participated in.

And no one had told Tim until he and Jason saw the news. On TV.

"Since you hung up the Red Robin suit." Jason clarified. "Hey, you should be happy no one is butting their heads in your life. I'm pretty happy that they don't with mine." he added with a nonchalant shrug.

"Are you?" Tim asked, his eyes cast on the road.

"Happy? Sure. I get to go on a date in a  _really_  sweet ride, I get to punch people on my own terms. I get to go home to take a good, long, hot bath with a really cute dude who's supposed to be my brother but never get to know me growing up..." he grinned and reached for Tim's hair and ruffled it. "We can do this, yeah?"

A small smile appeared on Tim's eyes first, followed with his lips. "Yeah, we can." he said, breathing out and letting the tension flow away from his body. "Thanks, Jason..."

"Don't thank me yet. I can still screw up this picnic magnificently."

"You would be if you've forgotten to bring food."

"Nope, that one I got covered." Jason said, pointing to a roadside diner before pulling in to the parking lot. "Jilly's got my rear covered on that one. Just wait up a minute."

Jilly's picnic prep did not disappoint. A few hours later, their respective stomachs fully filled with Jilly's food; they laid down side-by-side in front of the lake, a little far west of Somerset, watching the sunset. Respective arms under their head, Jason could feel the calmness of the outdoors started to

"I'd brought Bizz here to almost kill him, you know." Jason mused.

"You're not planning to kill me, are you?"

"Naah, I liked having a roommate that doesn't eat kryptonite for breakfast." Jason replied, flopping over onto Tim. "Although I'm still questioning the molecular stability and/or hazard factor of that concoction you make in the coffee machine every morning...

Tim laughed. "I promise it's coffee. Pure, unadulterated coffee. Really. Just... sometimes I'd add a few different blends or roasts..."

"Sounds like the making of dynamite." Jason replied boredly, rubbing his forehead on Tim's belly. "Wanna go back?"

Tim shrugged, taking one of his arms from behind his head and started carding his fingers across Jason's hair. "Night's still young," he remarked noncommittally. "Unless you have other plans..."

"Nope," Jason replied quickly. "Nothing tonight. I've promised you."

"Then no, I want to enjoy this..."

"Okay," Jason conceded. Then he leaped up, remembering something, and ignoring Tim's surprise yelp. "Hang on a sec! I almost forgot!" he called out as he ran back toward the car. From its trunk, he retrieved a small cooler box and returned to Tim triumphantly. "I toldja it'll be a special one. I got this from the king himself and almost forgot..."

Tim got up to a sitting position, and glared at Jason quizzically. "What..." he started, and his eyes widened comically large when Jason opened the box and produced a cake. "Oh my-- is that a mille feuille?? Alfred's??" he gasped.

"Yesh! Because ain't nothing is too special for you and Alfred was all over it the instant I said it's gonna be your birthday cake." Jason grinned and placed a single candle on the single-slice, and lit it up. "Make a wish, Timmers."

Tim closed his eyes, looking as if he was  _really_  putting a hard thought into the wish, and then blew the candle. "For the records, my wish has nothing to do with costumes - not directly." he said.

"Shh, don't tell me!" Jason stopped him. "Just... costumes are for tomorrow. Tonight, Timmy, is our night."

Tim took a big bite from the layered pastry-and-cream cake, letting the pastry flakes smeared his cheeks. He giggled as Jason cleaned them out with his mouth. The giggles stopped as Jason's lips landed on his. "Our night, huh?" Tim muttered.

"Yes," Jason confirmed. "Happy birthday, little bird."

There were a few texts in Tim's phone that he replied to when they finally decided to go home. Jason would bet his life savings that the replies consisted of 'thanks, [person name here]', solely from the movement of Tim's fingers while replying. He didn't take a long time, either. Five minutes, tops, and then he turned toward Jason, grinning mischievously. "You should send me a text, too, you know; if you want to keep up this charade."

"What charade?"

"That you and I aren't..." Tim gestured vaguely between the two of them. "...you know..."

"Together? I don't care - I mean if they know, that is."

"No?"

"No. You're an adult. I'm an adult. What's the drama?" Jason shrugged. "Huh, looks like there's something bright up ahead..." he added. Something that looked like an explosion lit up the night sky somewhere in Gotham's Downtown area. "Wanna go and check it out?"

"No," Tim replied. "Tonight is our night. If they're not near Crime Alley, I'm not even letting you go see."

"Okay," Jason chuckled. "See, Timmers, it's not that hard..."

"No, it's not..." Tim sighed and slumped across the center console, letting his head landed on Jason's shoulder. It was a contented sigh that lit up a little spark of happiness in Jason. "I'm glad I'm here. I'm glad you're here with me."

"Me too, Tim..." Jason smiled, reveling on the warmth of Tim's body next to him, and the warmth that lit up within him.

Tonight, they could at least pretend that Gotham is out there, out of their their personal bubble. Tonight, Jason at least could convince Tim that  _someone_  truly cared for him. Tonight, the soft smile more prevalent in Tim's eyes would remain for a few minutes longer.


End file.
